by Tricia
That was fun and it felt good to get a bad money decision off my chest a few days ago. Why not do it a few more times? 😉
Bad Money Decision #2
Two words…I smoke. Not only is it unhealthy for my finances – it is unhealthy period. I started smoking when I was fourteen, a young girl looking for a way to rebel. I found it in smoking, but now I can hear my lungs rattle when I breathe and I have a cough that lingers.
I want to quit so bad. Gosh knows I’ve tried. But the addiction is so strong and my stress level – well, my crutch for handling stressful times are my smokes. I joke because some of the best ideas that I have had have come to me while standing outside smoking. I guess you can call them my killer thinkin’ sticks.
I don’t like spending so much for a pack of cigarettes. I think it costs over $5.00 a pack now. If you noticed – I said “I think”. That’s because I found a way to be a frugal smoker. I’ve been rolling my own cigarettes since 2003. Instead of spending over $150/month I am only spending around $30/month.
Boy, I just re-read the above and it sounds like I am just full of excuses. Any habit, whether good or bad, is so darn hard to break.
I’m the guy the tobacco companies love: I find cute girls who smoke incredibly sexy. Damn the media that have convinced me of this.
Hey There…That’s pretty awesome…I wanted to quit since about a year after I started…
Write down a list of all the reason you want to quit, even the morbid, scary thoughts like dying of lung cancer, breathing through a tube, and leaving ur family and friends…then look at that list, and when ur ready, try to quit! That’s probably the most important thing…being ready and having the mindset of trying…Plus you got a blog…it’s a great tool…
It’s not only the immediate cost, but the costs of problems that will develop down the road. I lost my dad about 4 years ago to smoking, he had COPD. That is what probably scares me the most. Your lungs just stop working and you cannot catch your breath. Smoking causes chronic diseases that last the rest of you life. It’s not like a broken arm that heals in time.
Find a reason and stay focused on it. Myself, my Missus, and Freedumb have all done it. Me and the Missus quit about a month and a half ago. I did use the patch and it helped me immensely. Trust me when I say, if I can quit, anyone can quit. I was a two pack a day smoker, and it was firmly entrenched in my lifestyle. In fact the lifestyle change was harder for me than physically quitting. But I seriously do feel better already. The first couple of weeks are kind of rough, but once you get through that it gets a whole lot easier. It may take multiple attempts but you have nothing to lose and everything to gain. Give it go!
Best
Trainwreck